Waits joked that his rock hall trophy was heavy and wondered if he could have a key-chain version 'that I can keep with me in case I hear somebody say, 'Pete, take the cuffs off him. He's a Hall of Famer.''

He described songs as 'just very interesting things to be doing with the air.' and drew laughs from the audience saying: 'They say that I have no hits and that I'm difficult to work with. And they say that like it's a bad thing.'

He also recalled how, at age 15, he had snuck in to see a Lightnin' Hopkins show by putting 'Wite-Out in my hair and drawing on a moustache'.

Waits compared his induction to receiving the key to the city of El Paso: 'They told me there was only one but I found out there were a whole bunch of them, and they didn't open anything.

Neil Young: "I didn't bring my teleprompter or my notes and I don't have any real thoughts. I will say that this next man is indescribable and I'm here to describe him. In the scope of things this man is a great singer, actor, magician, spirit guide, changeling and performer for you."

Inductee Tom Waits and Neil Young perform onstage at the 26th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at The Waldorf=Astoria on March 14, 2011 in New York CityPhoto: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

I'm that fan that recorded Tom at the simulcast in Cleveland and posted to youtube. Don't forget "The House Where Nobody Lives" it is part 2 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfvLdZCeXEU&feature=relatedteaserus